Angel's Devil (16 page)

Henry leaned toward his friend. "You can call him Lord James,"
he whispered. "He's all the crack, Jeremy. Much more fun than most
grownups."

"I believe I can manage a few more lessons," James chuckled,
rumpling Henry's hair. "Care to have a go at these?" he queried,
holding up the fishing poles.

"Oh, yes, Lord James!"

With that he herded Brutus and the laughing, excited children down to
the picnic area his servants had prepared in the shade of a stand of elms. He
found himself grinning as he watched the rest of the party arrive and sit down
to eat. Abbonley had always been his place where he could be alone, though his
own company was rarely comforting. Since the Grahams had arrived, the estate
seemed more like a home than simply a place to escape to, and the sound of
laughter and voices in the hallways reminded him of when he had been very
young, before his mother had died.

The children finished eating and took the poles down by the old dock,
where the ground was firmer. He couldn't see if they were catching anything,
but from the shrieks of laughter he doubted it.

"You again triumph as a host," Angelique said merrily as she
approached, a strawberry tart in one hand. He had noticed her fondness for the
berry, and had instructed his cook to have it present at every meal. "I
don't think they'll be catching anything, however." She chuckled. "Mama
refused to let them dig for worms, so they have no bait."

"We'll have to see to that." James spied one of the servants
approaching with a fresh platter of thin-sliced ham. "John, bring that
down to the children," he instructed, "and inform them that it makes
good bait."

"Yes, my lord." With a glance at him, the servant walked down
to the shore. A cheer erupted as he handed the ham over to Jeremy.

"Oh, dear," Angel murmured, and he turned to look at her.

She was gazing toward the manor, and abruptly began laughing. A moment
later he joined her. Grandmama Elizabeth had arrived for the picnic.
Evidently, however, she had decided she had indeed had enough of dining on the
ground, for trailing behind her were servants carrying, ill procession, a
chair, a writing table, a tablecloth and a canopy.

"She is an original," he muttered.

"Like her grandson," Angel concurred.

He looked back at her to find her hazel eyes dancing with mischief.
"To which grandson are you referring?" he queried, raising an
eyebrow.

"Tell me you've changed your mind about Lily," she whispered,
taking a step closer.

"Tell me you've changed your mind about Simon," he murmured
back, not surprised at her shocked expression. He was rather shocked that he
had said it aloud, himself.

"Why should I?" she returned hotly.

"And why should I?" he repeated.

Before she could reply, Simon was there. “Come back and finish eating,
Angel. Lily's been telling me an amusing story about Miss Delon which you must
hear."

"Oh, by all means, excuse me," James said, sweeping a bow.
"I would hate to keep you from that."

As he had expected, she scowled at him. "You certainly are puffed
up with your own consequence today," she noted disdainfully, then turned
away.

"Goosecap," he replied smoothly.

She whirled around and opened her mouth to make a retort. At the last
moment she looked over at his cousin, snapped her jaw shut again, and with a
twitch of her skirts turned to lead Simon back to where Lily waited.

James stood for a moment watching the three of them. Lily Stanfred was
perhaps the more classically beautiful of the two young ladies, but there was a
blithe warmth and compassion in Angelique that set her completely apart from
any woman he had ever met. He only hoped Simon knew that, and that his cousin
would appreciate what a rare and precious gift he had been given. With a sigh,
James turned to the lake to offer his assistance to the children in their quest
for supper.

9

“I
’
ve figured it out, you
know."

James looked up as Simon squatted beside him. "Figured what
out?" he queried uneasily, fiddling with a pebble. "Try it again,
Jeremy!" he called as the boy and his gelding crossed the field they had
piled with make-shift jumps.

"Miss Stanfred. I saw you eyeing her. She's why you invited the
Stanfreds here, isn't she? It wasn't to aid me, it was so you could take care
of your own matrimonial business."

"And?" James prompted, straightening to ease the strain on his
bad leg. "Lean a little further forward, Jeremy!"

"And? And it's completely unacceptable, that's what." Simon
stood to frown at his cousin.

"Why? What's wrong with arranging two marriages with one holiday? I
thought it rather economical of me."

"Good God, James, you are the most cold-blooded bastard I've ever
encountered. That poor girl will be like a lamb to the slaugh—"

"Why don't you stop worrying about my affairs and tend your
own?" James snapped. "And start asking yourself why, in the world a
spitfire like Angelique Graham would want to marry a clod like you."

"I am not a clod," Simon said quietly.

James took a breath, realizing he had overstepped his bounds. "No,
you're not. Unlike myself, you are a gentleman. I apologize."

"And Angel's not a spitfire. She simply needs a husband, a
household, and children to . . . settle her down. That's all."

It would be easier to blanket sunshine, James thought, but said nothing.

"Percival was appalled to hear I was coming to Abbonley,"
Lily told Angelique, giggling. "He insisted I would be ruined by the mere
presence of the marquis."

Angel looked over her shoulder. They appeared to be alone in the garden,
but she remained uncertain whether she should let Lily know of Abbonley's
plans. "He's been a wonderful host," she said instead.

Lily leaned over to smell a cluster of Madame Hardy roses. "I'm
always afraid to talk to him. He seems so fierce, and I just know whatever I
say will be foolish, and he'll give me a set-down."

"He's not so terrible," Angelique offered.

"Not for you. You stand right up to him." Lily blushed "I
could never do that."

Angel tried to think of something comforting to say, but Lily was right.
The Marquis of Abbonley was far too fierce for her, and in his striking
presence she would be nothing more than a small, beautiful decoration. And,
Angel realized, this whole thing was her fault. If she hadn't tried so hard to
find just the wrong match for Abbonley, he might have settled on someone else
entirely. Now he would look at Lily with his beautiful emerald eyes, and she
would only look away.

"Ah, my two favorite ladies," Simon smiled, coming around the
corner. He took their hands and brought both to his lips at the same time.
"May I join you on your walk?"

"Of course." Lily smiled prettily.

Angelique glanced at her friend. "Of course," she echoed They
strolled about the grounds for quite some time before

Angel realized she hadn't heard anything from the twins or Jeremy, and
she set off down to the lake to find them. There was no sign of them by the old
dock, and with a sigh she started up along the north shore. A few clouds
skittered across the sky, and she stopped to look out across the lake. It was
beautiful here, like a small piece of paradise.

A splash several yards out into the water caught her attention. A
second splash followed a moment later, but this time she saw the pebble fly
overhead. She turned to see James Faring seated on the grass a short distance
behind her, Brutus at his side. "What are you doing out here?" she
queried, embarrassed at being found daydreaming.

"Following you," he answered promptly. "What are you
doing out here?"

“L
ooking
for the children."

"They're out behind the stable," he informed her, rising and
brushing off the back of his buckskins, "plotting something I haven't been
let in on yet." He motioned her back toward the manor.

"What were you following me for?" she asked.

The marquis strolled beside her, picking the bark off a twig with his
fingers. "Other than the fact that you were heading off into the woods
alone, I was wondering if you'd like to ride with me in the morning. If you'd
like to take Pharaoh out." He flung the twig away. "I'm certain it
will leave your parents insane with alarm."

She chuckled and looked over at him. His limp was nearly vanished, and a
healthy tan had replaced the tired pall he had worn in Dover. Brutus trotted
along at his heels, looking the very soul of domesticated obedience. "How
do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Get Brutus to listen to you. I have to offer him all sorts of
bribes to get him to do anything. And he hardly listens to anyone else at all."

James laughed. "I actually don't expect anything of him. Perhaps I
have the best understanding of misbehavior, and he thinks me a kindred
spirit."

"And I am only a distant second in disobedience." Abbonley
shrugged, still grinning. "I suppose that depends on whose rules you are
supposed to follow." He gestured toward the stables. "What about
Pharaoh?"

"I would be pleased to go riding with—you." James gave a smile
and nodded.

"Seven-thirty?"

"That's fine."

He paused as they reached the edge of the trees. "You'd best go
back the rest of the way without me," he commented softly, "or
everyone will wonder what you and I were doing alone together in the
forest." The Devil slowly reached out toward her, and then brushed a leaf
off her sleeve, running his fingers down the patterned muslin covering her arm.
"We want you married, and not ruined now, don't we?" he murmured.

Angelique cleared her throat, clasping her hands together to conceal the
fact - that they had begun shaking. "Of course."

"I'll go round up the children." He looked down at her with a
slight, amused smile, then turned for the stables. Angel continued toward the
house. Flirting with James Faring was quite . . . exhilarating, and she would
miss it once she and Simon were married.

The table that evening was even noisier than before, despite the fact
that the children, there in honor of the fact that they had provided the main
course, spent most of the meal whispering and giggling to one another. They
were up to something. If she couldn't discover what it was, she would ask for
James's assistance. If anyone could get them to confess, it would be the
marquis.

She had never seen James Faring as good-humored as he was that evening,
and she spent a great deal of time watching him. He caught her gaze on several
occasions, his eyes twinkling, and she could see why so many women found him
attractive. By the end of the evening he even had Lily giggling, and Angel
watched as her friend's parents shared a hopeful glance. The marquis's plan was
apparently going better than her own, and that hardly seemed fair. The whole
reason the Graham horde had come to Abbonley was so he could convince her
parents to marry her off to someone else.

Angelique frowned. Not to someone else. To Simon, of course.

The next morning, the marquis was at the stables before her. It was
chilly, so she had dressed in her heavy emerald riding habit with a matching
hat perched rakishly on her hair. James was splendid in a black jacket and
buckskin breeches, his calf-length Hessian boots shined to such perfection she
could almost see her reflection in them.

"Good morning, Lady Angel," he greeted her. "Ready for a
good ron?"

She nodded vigorously. "Absolutely."

He threw her into the saddle, and Pharaoh turned his head to look at her.
Hastings was to accompany them, but from the look James gave him as he swung up
on Demon, the groom was going to be left far behind. They started off at a fast
clip toward the lake, heading for the south shore. "Are we going all the
way around?" she asked, urging Pharaoh even with Demon.